Abena Osei-Poku
ABSA BANK Ghana has made a strong commitment to make Ghanaian women economically and financially empowered in order to bridge the gender gap.
This is because despite their numerous achievements, female talent still remained the least employed in the world and underserved in the financial industry.
Abena Osei-Poku, Managing Director of Absa Bank Ghana Limited, speaking at this year’s International Women’s Day organised by her outfit dubbed, “Absa Women’s Night in Accra”, noted that through the success stories of some female pacesetters, the world had seen the transformative power of women; who seized every opportunity to change lives, communities and the world.
“There are still millions of ladies with untapped potential or just needing a nudge. That’s the reason why it isn’t enough to simply talk of equality and empowerment,” said Mrs Osei-Poku.
“At Absa, we are an equal opportunities employer and believe in diversity and inclusion; we are ready to challenge the current situation and passionately work at it with our clients and other stakeholders to positively influence our world.
Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Elsie Addo Awadzi, noted that the lack of access to financial resources was a major hindrance to the growth of women in Ghana.
She indicated that women were not applying for more formal financial credit due to the lack of financial literacy and lack of collaterals in order to secure lending.
“We must ensure women are able to access the appropriate forms of financing in order to grow their business. Access to finance is one such key area that needs to be worked on as well as offering technical expertise to assist women in running their business,” Mrs Awadzi told the gathering.
According to her, banks must harness the opportunities presented by today’s technology to make financing easily available to women with formal and informal businesses. “We must encourage women to run profitable, sustainable and inter-generational businesses.”
Other members of the panel discussion included Patricia Obo-Nai, CEO of Vodafone Ghana; Ivy Apea Owusu, CEO of Cirrus Oil; Ellen Hagan, Founder of L’aine Services; Angela Dwamena-Aboagye, Executive Director of the Ark Foundation and Natalie Fort, media personality.